“Obviously, the best way to get the new iPad on launch day was to pre-order it as soon as Apple’s website came back up. That option is now gone and you’re looking at shipping times of 2-3 weeks before you can get a new iPad in your hands,” Buster Heine writes for Cult of Mac.

“It’s ok…. Waiting in line for the iPad isn’t that bad. In fact, it can even be a lot of fun,” Heine writes. “If you’re planning on braving the weather and the crowds Friday morning here is our killer guide on the gear you need to not just survive, but thrive on launch day and walk away with the new iPad model you want.”

Heine writes, “Get There Early – What time to get there is probably your biggest dilemma. You crave extra hours on your mattress just like everyone else and you’d hate to throw more away than you need to. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be crazy and get there 3 days early. There will be plenty of iPads. Show up around 6am and you should be fine. There will be a line when you get there. You won’t be near the front. But Apple will have enough new iPads in stock and you’ll walk away happy that you weren’t like some of the knuckleheads that showed up at 1am.”

Many more tips (dress in layers, bring a chair…) in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: We preordered ours (the iPad 2 lines were not that fun). And Fedex has been holding our new iPads one state over since the 12th, presumably at Apple’s request. Looking at Fedex tracking has been excrutiating to say the least. We have half a mind to drive over there! We hold out faint hopes for a delivery sometime tomorrow, but we really don’t expect to see our new iPads until Friday. :-(

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Dan K." for the heads up.]